The National Sculpture Society (NSS) awards the 2025 Augusta Savage Grant to Jules Arthur. The Grant is for excellence in sculpture and is awarded to a talented emerging sculptor who self-identifies as Black or African American. The jury included sculptors Joey Quiñones and LaQuincey Reed.

Reed feels that “Jules Arthur has shown to be a proficient and creative sculptor and artist. It’s a delight to see artists like Jules carry on the legacy of figurative sculpture much like Augusta Savage did before him. We all look forward to the many great things he will accomplish and hope that the grant will highlight and further his artistic career.”

Born in St. Louis, MO, Jules was raised with strong values and a moral sensibility that has become a wellspring for the insights expressed in his work. After graduating from St. Louis Community College with honors in 1994, he continued his studies at the Atlanta College of Art in Atlanta, GA, and the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he received a B.F.A. with honors in the spring of 1999. Committed to the path of a lifelong student of life and art, he continues to take courses at The Art Students League in New York City. He states, “If one is to master the human form, one must remain in constant pursuit of it.”

Jules has exhibited at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA); RJD Gallery (Bridgehampton, NY); Scope Art Fair (Miami, FL); MoCADA (New York, NY); the African American Museum (Dallas, TX) and the Studio Museum (Harlem, NY). His work is in the collection of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York, NY). Jules employs a wide range of art medium techniques, from charcoal to oil painting and enjoys the creative use of woods, metals, paper, leather and more, often in a multi-media mix presentation. His work ranges from portraiture to historical themes and includes some experimentation with abstract studies.

The Augusta Savage Grant is funded through a generous donation and consists of an unrestricted cash prize of $2500. Augusta Savage (1892-1962) is one of the most influential African American artists of the 1930s. The NSS celebrates the legacy of this renowned American sculptor and encourages eligible emerging artists to apply in the upcoming year.